Indian Govt under criticism by Rahul’s Party over China ties
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Shortly after the conclusion of the 32nd meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination on China-India Border Affairs (WMCC), there has been extensive criticism from Rahul’s Party that is the Indian National Congress toward the Government handling of China-India relations, specifically questioning the acceptance of a “new normal,” along the border compared to the “old normal” before April 2020, which they claim was “unilaterally disturbed by China.”
This same Congress has a MoU with Xi’s Communist Party !!Characterizing the issue as a reflection of interparty conflict between marginalized Indian National Congress and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Though some Chinese are worried that through this interparty “conflict” India may hold a dual strategy aimed at gaining leverage in negotiations with China.
The Times of India reported Monday that the Congress demanded a full debate and said that discussion in Parliament should focus on “both strategic and economic policy, especially since our dependence on China has increased economically, even as it unilaterally changed the status quo on our borders over four years back.”
According to a PTI report on Sunday, Indian National Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jariam Ramesh has picked on Indian external affairs minister S Jaishankar’s recent statement in both Houses of Parliament on China following the 32nd meeting of the WMCC on December 5, while questioning that “does this not reveal a shift in our official position.”
At the 32nd meeting of the WMCC, China and India agreed to continue to give full play to the role of the border negotiation mechanism, maintain communication through diplomatic and military channels, and safeguard sustainable peace and tranquillity in the border areas, according to a release from Chinese Foreign Ministry on Friday.
The two sides positively evaluated the solutions reached by the two countries on border issues, agreed to continue to fully and effectively implement the relevant solutions and take measures to further ease the border situation.
Based on the important common understandings reached by the leaders of the two countries, the two sides focused on preparations for the next round of meetings between the special representatives of China and India on border issues, said the release.
Commenting on the Congress’s criticism of the Govt, Hu Zhiyong, a professor with the School of English Studies, Zhejiang International Studies University and a research fellow with the Institute of International Relations at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said this reflects entrenched interparty conflicts between India’s two major political parties- A marginalized Indian National Congress and the rising Bharatiya Janata Party led by Narendra Modi, and the Congress trying desperately to boost its domestic approval by criticizing the BJP.
On the one hand, China should stick to a firm stance on the border issue while conveying its position clearly through diplomatic channels, hu said, adding that the advancement of the bilateral ties required mutual efforts from the two sides.
He dismissed Rahul’s Congress’ rhetoric as part of a dual strategy aimed at gaining leverage in negotiations with China, and calling it futile. The so-called “old normal” and “new normal,” according to Hu, are simply rhetorical labels introduced by some Indian politicians without substantive meaning.
As the largest opposition party, the Congress frequently takes an oppositional stance, criticizing the Govt’s domestic and foreign policies, including its approach to China-India relations.
However, the Congress’s just 99 seats in the Indian Parliament limits its capacity to cause any substantial impact on the broader state of China-India relations, said Qian Feng, director of the research department at the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University, while noting its relevant statements largely generate political noise, highlighting intensified interparty rivalry.
